Two Steps from Hell was founded in 2006 when Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix joined forces to write original music for movie trailers. Bergersen moved from Trondheim, Norway to the United States in 2003, along with Phoenix, who began composing in 1997, before moving to Los Angeles. The two formed the company in early 2006, and have composed music for over 1,000 major motion picture trailers.[2]

Despite the company finding success for its music, the tracks were never officially released to the public until the May 2010 release of the commercial album Invincible. In addition to approaching Gold record status, Invincible became the first of several such albums to chart in the iTunes Top 100 Soundtracks.[3] As of July 2014, Two Steps from Hell has published 8 public albums in addition to 20 demonstration albums, with almost 1,000 unique tracks in total.

The album, Sun, which was released on September 30, 2014, is the second solo album from Thomas Bergersen. Preview tracks were released from the album, titled Cry and Sun, the former of which can be downloaded from Bergersen's official website.[4] An official music video for "Sun" was also released on YouTube,[5] preceding the announcement of a signed limited deluxe edition CD release set to include additional tracks and notes from Thomas, as well as a large-size poster featuring his artwork.[6]

Additionally, in July 2014 Two Steps from Hell released an e-book known as Colin Frake on Fire Mountain, which features a 75,000-word novel written by Nick Phoenix with illustrations by Otto Bjornik, as well as an original score also made available via a soundtrack release.[7]

Two Steps from Hell's main graphical artist is Steven Gilmore,[8] who has created album covers for almost every promotional and public release, including the logo of the company, with the only exception being the 2009 DVD release of their library, for which the album cover was created by Paul Zeaiter.[9] Additionally, Thomas Bergersen's Illusions solo album features design by Jesper Krijgsman,[10] while its sequel, Sun, features artwork created by Thomas himself.[11]

On June 4, 2012, an official app was announced for iOS and Android, containing 19 tracks of previously released music in a compilation album called Demon's Dance. The app was announced via the company's official Twitter feed.[15][16] The app was officially released on June 26, 2012 for iOS,[17] followed by the Android release the next day.[18]

Ukrainianrhythmic gymnastAlina Maksymenko used a medley of songs of the team producers for her hoop routine in 2012, she finished 6th at the rhythmic gymnastics individual all around final in London. That same medley was used in 2013 by Italian artistic gymnast Enus Mariani for her floor routine.

Two Steps from Hell hosted a live concert on June 14, 2013 at the Disney Hall, in Los Angeles, California, performing some of their most popular songs, such as Heart of Courage, Protectors of the Earth, To Glory, Strength of a Thousand Men, Black Blade and Breathe, as well as Ocean Princess, Age of Gods and Remember Me from Bergersen's album Illusions.[21] The next day, they confirmed on Facebook further concerts, with venues and dates to be announced.[22] On June 26, 2013, Bergersen confirmed the next concert to take place in Europe,[23] intending to begin touring at some point in 2015.[24]

Archangel (2011) — Compilation of more of the most popular Two Steps from Hell tracks.

Demon's Dance (2012) — Compilation of tracks from various albums spanning multiple genres, available only on the Two Steps from Hell app for iOS and Android.

Halloween (2012) — Compilation of well-known horror tracks from several demonstration albums, with several other-genre tracks as well.[28]

SkyWorld (2012) — First public album to use mostly all-new tracks. Expanded version available on ExtremeMusic.[29]

Classics Volume One (2013) — Compilation of previously unreleased tracks in the same vein as Invincible and Archangel. First public album available in lossless audio. Expanded version available on ExtremeMusic.[30]

There are a number of albums made by other composers from the company, which are not considered part of the primary library and are consequently not represented on official Two Steps from Hell resources. They include:

Tower of Mischief (2011) — Intended as a preview track for the Two Steps from Heaven album, but ultimately released on Nero.[72]

My Freedom (2011) — A track originally considered for release on Illusions. Later included on the Nero album. Lyrics performed by Merethe Soltvedt. Has since been released to the public on the album Miracles.[73]

Benedictus (2011) — Originally intended for release on Sun. Later included on the Two Steps from Heaven album.[74]

Where Are You (2011) — Pop-trance track with acoustic elements. Lyrics performed by Thomas Bergersen[75]

My Soul, Not Yours (2012) — Experimental dubstep track. Later included on the Burn album as "Not Your Soul".[76]

Hymn to Life (2012) — A track released on the occasion of Thomas's birthday. Later performed in a Czech concert as "Hymnus Vitae Dedicatus".[77][78]

To Die on Halloween (2012) — A song from the public album, Halloween, with lyrics written and performed by Nick Phoenix. An official music video was released via YouTube.[79]

Colin and Petunia (2014) — Preview track for the Colin Frake on Fire Mountain album. Retitled "Colin Frake" for its album release.[80]